Curriculum and Instruction

Curriculum and Instruction:A parent’s primary question about their child’s school relates to the content and quality of curriculum and instruction. At St. Johns, we are able to adopt the many effective and researched qualities of the public education system and weave in our spirituality, creating a truly whole-child, comprehensive program. St. John the Baptist Catholic School is affiliated with the Diocese of Santa Rosa which supports 13 Parish elementary schools in Northern California. We are dually-accredited, operating on a full 6 year term from the Western Association of Schools (WASC) and Colleges and the Western Catholic Education Association (WCEA). We also celebrate a legacy of academic tradition in the Napa Valley for over 100 years. Generations of alumni, many of whom remain in the area, can recall their roots in our corridors.

St. John the Baptist Catholic School offers a core curriculum which is structured on the sequential and challenging California Department of Education common core standards (see links below). We are a site-based managed program, meaning the school is an educational ministry of our Parish and governed by our Pastor. Because we are site-based governed, we manage our finances, human resources, facilities and other aspects necessary for school functioning. We choose and purchase our textbooks and instructional materials, which are standards-based to support our educational program.

St. John the Baptist Catholic School participates in a yearly, group, summative, standardized test of academic achievement, the Iowa test and our scores range from average to are above average. Students also receive quarterly formative assessments. Our scores are not used to secure funding, for staff retention or student placement. We use our scores to monitor programmatic effectiveness. While we believe in the value of standardized testing, we also believe that a student is not defined by a test score. Test scores cannot measure all that our students are taught and all that our students achieve at St. John the Baptist Catholic School.

St. John's graduates are well-rounded, active participants in their communities and solid in their academic foundation. Our graduates are well-prepared to go on to the school of their choice, primarily Justin-Siena, Vintage and Napa High Schools. Many earn honor roll status, succeed in honors class, play team sports, perform in musical opportunities or gain spots in student leadership or campus ministry.

Our staff is dedicated to the vocation of Catholic education. They are highly-qualified and several hold graduate degrees. Professional development is supported through local and national continuing education opportunities.

Our parent community is also committed to supporting our academic program, primarily through funding important co-curricular activities and by serving as active partners in the education of their children.

St. John the Baptist Catholic School is a thriving, learning community thanks to the investment of hundreds of mission-dedicated stakeholders.